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Big Hair and Bad Blood: VHS-Era Horror Obscurities From A to Z

Courtesy of Scarecrow VideoCover art for the movie “Tales From the Quadead Zone,” a VHS rarity that is part of the rental collection at Scarecrow Video in Seattle.

For a certain subset of horror fan, the high quality of Blu-ray is unwatchable compared with the painfully grainy-hazy look of VHS (especially do-it-yourself titles that look like they were made over a weekend in some guy’s backyard). In recent years, small distributors and a few majors have released 1980s horror movies, mostly of the schlock variety, on special-edition VHS tapes as well as on DVD.

The New York Times asked several fans of the horror genre to choose some of their favorite VHS-era films (not all are available on DVD or VHS) for a list called “10 VHS-Era Horror Obscurities Not to Miss.” They are Evan Husney, the director of Drafthouse Films; Zack Carlson, a programmer at the Alamo Drafthouse in Austin, Tex.; Hadrian Belove, the head programmer at the Cinefamily Theater in Los Angeles; and Joseph A. Ziemba, the creator of the horror movie Web site bleedingskull.com. Following are their selections, with links to video clips and trailers (many of which are graphic in a gore-that-looks-like-Jello kind of way). Suggest your own must-see VHS tapes in the comments section below.

A mother obsessed with mind-altering televangelism consequently vomits a pulsating growth that slithers down the throat of her son during the night. Upon spewing the parasite, the son is driven by an uncontrollable force to murder and feed corpses to the now-multiple-toothed monsters manifesting throughout the house. This gory, shot-on-Super-8 regional rarity is a micro-budget salute to H.G. Lewis and H.P. Lovecraft. — Evan Husney, Drafthouse Films

“The Alien Factor” (1978)
Directed by Don Dohler
Image Entertainment

A spaceship transporting an interplanetary zoo crashes in the woods outside Baltimore, unleashing a bevy of flesh-eating subspecies. This pre-video-age late-night cable TV favorite was created (almost singlehandedly) by a fanzine editor who managed to shape his micro-budget into a special effects extravaganza. The late Don Dohler would go on to direct many straight-to-VHS films of the ’80s, including “Galaxy Invader” and “Blood Massacre.” — Zack Carlson, Alamo Drafthouse

“Boarding House” (1982)
Directed by John Wintergate
Code Red DVD

A telekinetic middle-age man in a bikini thong invites young women for a dip in his haunted jacuzzi. Spectral violence ensues. “Boarding House” was arguably the first shot-on-video feature, and the filmmakers were so certain of their imminent success that they had several 35 mm prints struck, allowing audiences to experience the limitations of early ’80s camcorder technology on the big, big screen. Very few theatergoers were up to the challenge. — Carlson

A rare case where the monster in the movie is exactly what is promised by the grotesque hand-drawn VHS cover art. Shot on 16mm and mostly staged in a single location, “Deadly Spawn” delivers a horde of slimy man-chomping menaces who land near a farmhouse and proceed to shred everyone in sight. Made by and for gorehounds. — Hadrian Belove, Cinefamily

Beginning in high school, Nathan Schiff directed Super-8 features made for no intended audience other than his friends and family. “Long Island Cannibal Massacre” exposes Schiff’s East Coast home turf as a breeding ground for rampaging psychopaths as a determined cop hunts down blood-thirsty lepers. Predating the direct-to-VHS boom, Schiff’s outsider ouput pioneered the DIY horror film aesthetic. — Belove

“Ogroff” a k a “Mad Mutilator” (1983)
Directed by Norbert Moutier
Not on DVD

The madman Ogroff commits gore-drenched violence in this European pastiche of American slashers. Including only nine lines of dialogue and a collage-like composition, the lack of information regarding its production makes this a sought-after film for fans of unorthodox horror. — Joseph A. Ziemba, BleedingSkull.com

In an experiment “extremely important to biological science,” a mad scientist impregnates a woman who eventually gives birth to a monstrous fiend. Growing to behemoth size, the creature is adorned with a gauze-wrapped head, foam elf ears, a ketchup-spattered undershirt, heavy post-sync simian grunting and a penchant for stalking helpless women through endless hallways for most of the film’s 82-minute running time. Made in Canada in 1987 and released in 1991, “Science Crazed” is not based on actual science. — Husney

Courtesy of Camp Motion PicturesThe cover of the film “Splatter Farm.”

Foul-mouthed, mustachioed identical twins (played by the teenage filmmakers) head out to the country to visit their elderly aunt and her strapping young houseboy. The weekend getaway quickly descends into a lethal migraine of incest and torture. With this shot-on-VHS feature, the DIY duo would spend the next 20 years helming similar films together like “Terror House” and “Blood Red Planet” until brother John’s death at age 39. — Carlson

“Tales From the Quadead Zone” (1987)
Directed by Chester Novell Turner
Not on DVD

A bereaved mother entertains her invisible ghost son with three strange stories via a story book from another dimension. Where the quick-buck intentions of most shot-on-video films from the 1980’s are transparent, the personal and artistic motivations behind “Tales From The Quadead Zone” are shrouded in mystery. A rumored 200 VHS tapes in all were originally self-released, with copies selling today on eBay for more than $600 making this film one of the holy grail finds for horror VHS collectors. — Husney

“The Zodiac Killer” is a true-crime exposé that forecasts the 1980s shot-on-video revolution, making its early 1970s release date that more notable. The film was a ploy to rouse the real Zodiac Killer out of hiding. It didn’t work. — Ziemba